Billet-conveyer.



No. 633,572. 'Patented Sept. 26, I899. J. C. CBUMWELL.

BILLET CONVEYE-B.

Application filed June 2, 1898., (H0 Model.) 4 Sheets$heet No. 633,572.Patented Sept. 26, I899. J. c. CROMWELL.

BILLET CONVEYER.

Applicaxion filed June 2, 1898M 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

iafir if m INVENTO ITNESSE No. 633,572. Patented Sept. 26, [899.

J. C. CRUMWELL.

BILLET CONVEYER.

Application filed June 2, 1808.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

mvzn I I THE uomus PETERS w. PHOTO-LUNG" wnsnlua'ran. a c

No. 633,572. Patented Sept. 26, 1899.

J. C. CRDMWELL.

BILLET CONVEYER. Application filed June 2, 188.

4 SheetsSheet 4,

(No Model.)

m g N INVENTOR wn'n sssss m: wonms am co, PHOTO-LUNG WASH UNITED STATESPATENT 0FFICE.

JOHN C. OROMWELL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO \VILLIAMGARRETT, OF SAME PLACE.

BIL-.LET- CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,572, datedSeptember 26, 1899.

Application filed June 2, 1893.

To all 2071 0717, it nut concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN C. CROMWELL, of Cleveland, in the county ofOuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Billet-Conveyers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in which Figures 1, 2, and 3 are top planviews showing successive portions of my improved conveyer, the threewhen united showing the entire apparatus. Fig. 1 shows a modifiedconstruction of the apparatus. Figs. 4:, 5, and 6 are side elevations ofthe successive sections of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Fig. 7 is anenlarged detail side elevation of a portion of the conveyer. Fig. 8 is acrosssection of the detail of Fig. 7, and Fig. 9 is a diagrammaticperspective view showing the general arrangement of the rope-drivingconnections.

My invention relates to billet-conveyers, and is designed to provide animproved construction thereof wherein the billets or similar articlesare carried-upon a series of rollers, which rollers are driven by anendless belt, which may be made either in the form of a wire rope, abelt, a chain, or other flexible connection, for which in the claims Ishall use the general term belt. It is also designed to provide aconveyer of this general form wherein the billets may be switched off atany desired point in the length of the conveyer and by means of a sideloop thereof de posit at any desired point.

In the drawings, 2 represents a drivingengine, and 3 a main shaft havinggear con nections with the shaft of the main drivingdrum 4.

5 is a mating driven drum, and between thedrums 4 and 5 is located theidle drum or roller 6, against which the outer portions of thedrum-peripheries bear, thus removing any side strains upon the bearingsof the drum which would otherwise be present on account of the action ofthe belts, which are looped about these two drums and held taut by the,usual traveling tightener 7, carried upon a wheeled truck 8, movablealong a track 9 and acted upon by a suitable counterweight, so as totighten the belt passing aroundit. V

In the drawings I have shown the belt as composed of a single continuouswire rope, which after being looped about the drums t and 5 and passingover the tightener extends thence throughout the entire length of theconveyer, returns to the starting-point, and thence is repeated, againextending throughout the conveyer and back to the startingpoint, whereit is 'joined to the first end, thus giving parallel separated strandportions which move side by side throughout the conveyer, the twostrands moving in the same direction and at the same rate of speed. Thetwo strands after passing aboutthe tightener extend horizontally to andaround a horizontal pulley 10. They thence extend horizontally and at anangle to the general line of the conveyer to and over two verticalpulleys 11, which space the strands the desired distance apart. Thencethe strands extend forward toward the general line of the conveyer andover a double-grooved pulley 12, and thence longitudinally over thevertical pulley 13 and downwardly to and under the double pulley 14:.The strands thence extend over a small single pulley 15 to and around alarge horizontal pulley 16 and again at an angle to and around thevertical pulleys 17. Then returning, the two strands pass around adouble loose pulley 18, directly overand upon the same shaft as thepulley 16, and thence extend longitudinally to the starting-point at thedrums at and 5.

Above that portion of the belt extending from the double pulley 18 tothe driving-drum is located a framework 19, in which are mounted aseries of transverse rollers 20,\vhose bearings rest loosely in suitableguides 21 upon the frame, the rollers being held in place merely bytheir own gravity and resting upon the strands of rope. These rollersmay be grooved, as shown, to receive the separated strands and increasethe amount of bearingsurface, and I prefer to so make them, though theymay be made plain-faced, if desired. To support the portions of thecables beneath the rollers 20, I mount inthe frame 19 a series ofgrooved pulleys which are located in pairs .and preferably between thelines of the rollers 20. These pulleys 22 support the load as thebillets are moved forwardly upon the rollers 20, on which they rest, andserve to insure a close contact between the belt and the rollers 20. Theupper portion of that branch of the belt which extends forwardly fromthe double pulleys 11 serves to drive a series of rollers 20, which aremounted and driven in exactly the same manner as the pulleys 20, and totransfer the billets from the main line of the conveyer to this branch Iprovide a pivoted switch 23, which is arranged to contact with anddeflect the billets onto a rotating turntable 24. This turn-table isprovided with guard-plates 25, which constitute extensions ofguard-plates 26, located above and at the sides of the rollers, as shownmore clearly in Fig. 8. The guards 25 guide the billets onto the rollers20, which carry them along at an angle to the main line of the conveyerto points where they may be acted upon by pushers 27, by which they maybe moved into a heating-furnace 28. The upper part of the belt,extending from the pulleys 17 forwardly to the pulley 18, drives aseries of rollers20", which are for the same purpose as the rollers 20,this branch being similarly provided with pushers 27, which move thebillets into a furnace 26. WVith this branch I use a turn-table 24L,with which cooperates the curved guide-plate portion 26', which I havebroken away partially in Fig. 6, so as to show the circularguiding-flange 29 upon the turn-table.

It will be understood that a branch of the conveyer similar to either ofthose shown may be formed at any point throughout the line of theconveyer and may extend at any desired angle thereto, so as to conveythe billets sidewise to any desired point. This is an important featureof my invention, as I am enabled to move the billets to any desiredpoint at the side of the main line of the conveyer by an extension ofthe conveyer itself, the rollers of the branches being driven by loopportions of the continuous belt, which may be driven from a singlesource of power. I desire to cover this arrangement of the continuousbelt as a conveyer whether rollers are employed therewith or not. Itwill be noted that the rollers I employ rest upon the driving-belt bytheir own gravity and are thus frictionally driven thereby, that thedriving-belt bears upon the rollers between their bearings, and that inthe particular form shown the bearing of the belt is equalized upon theroller by the two separated strands.

In Fig. 1 I show a modified construction of my apparatus included withinthe scope of my broader claims, in which for the purpose of increasingthe distance between the article and the belt to insure its not injuringthe belt I employ a second series of rollers, which rest upon and aredriven by a lower series of rollers. The latter rollers are in contactwith and are driven by the cable, and the upper series of rollers carryand move the billets placed thereon. In this form the cable is driven inthe direction in which it is desired to move the billets.

The advantages of my invention result largely from the use of the loopand also from the rollers resting upon the driving-belt between theirbearings, since a simple and effective construction is thus afforded,which may be very cheaply made, as the bearings of the rollers may beroughly constructed with little or no machining thereon. The arrangementof the driving-belt gives a simple and effective means by means of sideloops or branches for carrying the billets to any desired point and thatwithout the use of any other power than that employed for the main lineof conveyer.

Vithin the scope of my broader claims I may duplicate the driving cableor belt, using two or more of them instead of one.

The structure of the driving'belt may be varied widely, as well as theconstruction and arrangement of the driving mechanism, theguiding-pulleys, &c., without departing from my invention, since What Iclaim is l. A conveyer comprising a driving cable or belt and a seriesof rollers which rest upon the upper face of the cable or belt in itsupper path, and are driven thereby, substantially as described.

2. A conveyer having a driving cable or belt, and a series of rollerswhich lie directly upon the cable or belt at points between theirbearings and are driven thereby, said rollers being adapted to receiveon their surfaces the billets or articles and to move the same,substantially as described.

'3. In conveyers, a driving cable or belt, and a series ofloosely-mounted friction-rollers resting upon the belt by gravity anddriven thereby, these rollers being arranged to receive and movearticles lying thereon, substantially as described.

4. A conveyer comprising a driving cable, or belt, and a series ofrollers which rest upon the upper face of the cable or belt, and arefrictionally driven thereby, said rollers having grooves in theirperipheries engaging the 'cable, substantially as described.

5. In a conveyer, a driving cable or belt, and a substantiallyhorizontal series of rollers resting thereupon at points between theirbearings, and guideplates for the articles moving over these rollers,substantially as described.

6. In conveyers, a driving cable or belt, a series of rollers restingupon and driven thereby, andsupporting-rollers upon which the cablerests, substantially as described.

7. In conveyors, an endless cable or belt having a loop portion forminga branch extending at an angle to the main portion, and rollers restingupon the upper faces of the main and loop portions, and driven thereby;substantially as described.

8. In conveyers, an endless cable or belt having branch loops thereofextending at an angle to the main portion and carrying rollers restingupon and driven by the upper portions of the belt, substantially asdescribed.

9. In conveyer-s,- an endless cable or belt having loop portions thereofextending at an angle to the main portion, carrying-rollers resting uponand driven by the cable or belt both in its main and branch portions,and a switch device arranged to transfer a billet from the main portionto the branch portions, substantially as described.

10. In conveycrs, an endless cable or belt having an intermediate loopportion forming a branch extending at an angle to the main portion,rollers resting upon and driven by the cable or belt both in its mainand branch portions, a deflecting-switch at the junction of the main andbranch portions, and moving transfer mechanism arranged to carry abillet to the rollers upon the branch portion, substantially asdescribed.

11. A conveyer comprising an endless cable or belt having loop portionsthereof forming branches extending at an angle to the main portion ofthe belt, rollers driven by the main and loop portions, and anintermediate turn-table arranged to transfer the articles from the mainline to the branch; substantially as described.

12. A conveyer having a line of conveying mechanism adapted to carryarticles, a line extending at an angle therefrom, and an intermediateturn-table driven thereby and adapted to transfer the articles from oneline to the other, substantially as described.

13. A conveyer having a line of rollers and a second line extending atan angle therefrom, an intermediate transferring turn-table connectingthe lines of rollers, and a driving cable or belt which drives therollers and is connected with the turn-table to drive it also,substantially as described.

14. A conveyer having a line of rollers and a second line extending atan angle therefrom, an intermediate transferring tu rn-table connectingthe lines of rollers, a driving cable or belt which drives the rollersand is connected With the turn-table to drive it also, and a switchadapted to deflect the articles onto the turn-table, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN C. CROMWELL.

Witnesses:

THOS. S. DUNLAP, A. W. MASSEY.

